Expect pain at pump to change driving behavior

Thursday

Dec 6, 2012 at 12:01 AM

The average price of a gallon of gas in 2012 will most likely set an all-time record. And if prices remain high as projected, the way people drive and the types of cars they buy will be affected, according to GasBuddy.com.

CHAD SMITH

The average price of a gallon of gas in 2012 will most likely set an all-time record.

And if prices remain high as projected, the way people drive and the types of cars they buy will be affected, according to GasBuddy.com.

The average price of gasoline is set to close at around $3.60 per gallon for the year, about 9 cents higher than the average price of a gallon in 2011.

At no other point in history were annual average gas prices in the U.S. higher than that.

Hurricane Sandy and unrest in the Middle East may have driven prices up recently, but they're not expected to scale back anytime soon.

What does that mean for you?

"We're going to have to learn how to drive smarter and more efficiently," said Craig Smith, a spokesman for AAA of Northeast Pennsylvania. "We will have to plan ahead. People will have to map out exactly where they want to go and the most efficient way to go."

Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com, took it a step further.

"Plain and simple, people are going to have to start buying more gas-efficient vehicles. A lot of the times in the past, we've seen people get rid of their SUVs only to go back to them. That's probably going to stop."

DeHaan said cars with turbo chargers or with many geared transmissions or any other fuel-efficient features will begin selling better. Plus, there will be more pressure on manufacturers to produce fuel-efficient vehicles.

"Five years ago, seeing hybrid vehicles was by no means the norm. But I think that such vehicles ultimately will be the norm," said Mary Deily, an economics professor at Lehigh University.

"And then there are other things that are going to change if gas prices remain high. On a personal level, I can tell you that this year, to heat my home, I switched from oil to natural gas."

One way gas prices can go down is if a major recession hits again or if more refineries are built in the U.S., but they are expensive. If demand for gas plummets, those who built the refinery would be "left holding the bag," said AAA's Smith.

Meanwhile, consumers say they are being squeezed, and it's getting harder and harder to take.

"The price of gas is killing everybody," said Dan Farber of East Stroudsburg. "It seems as though every time the price drops, when it goes back up again, the new price is higher than what it was before it originally dropped. And, you know, these prices continue to rise, but people's wages aren't rising."